Bejoy Sebastian, a native of Punnapra in Alappuzha, Kerala, is making every Keralite proud after The Guardian on March 17 featured him saluting his dedication working as a senior nurse in London, taking care of critically ill patients for the last several years.
Acclaimed photojournalist Tom Pilston of The Guardian featured Bejoy in his photo essay titled “We’ve shed many tears’: a day in the life of an NHS nurse” highlighting Bejoy Sebastian, 37, as one of the most dedicated, enthusiastic and compassionate people one could wish to meet in London.
Tom Pilston wrote about Bejoy Sebastian as a person who has become a nurse not for the money but to serve the people. He also said the UK badly needs people like Sebastian and his family. Bejoy works as a senior nurse at University College London hospitals NHS foundation trust (UCLH).
It was in 2011 that Bejoy Sebastian moved to London as a nurse after finishing his nursing studies at Kottayam Medical College. Ever since then, he has been putting his best to take care of critically ill people. He currently stays with his wife Divya and eight-year-old son Emanuel near Heathrow in London.
“I was really surprised when a reputed journalist like Tom Pilston approached me. He spent two days with me and my family talking to us and learning about our life. I feel very honoured because The Guardian has recognized the service of nurses like me who are working hard to take care of the people,” Bejoy told “Open Digest”.
In the last few months, Bejoy has been in the forefront of the strike called by government nurses in the UK seeking a revision in salary in concurrence with the inflation. Bejoy, despite being a senior nurse who earns a high salary compared to other nurses, decided to join the strike and become its picket leader to support a common cause.
“Nurses working in the government sector are underpaid. We are only demanding for a decent hike. Moreover, several senior nurses have left the UK for other countries where they are offered more salary. Many have switched to private hospitals. We have been working tirelessly due to the shortage of nurses in the government sector,” Bejoy added.
The photo essay by Tom Pilston etches the hectic work of Bejoy that warrants him to put in extra additional hours at the hospital every day. “Sebastian is part of a large dedicated team in critical care who come in from all over the less affluent areas of London to care for very sick people. He leaves his house at dawn to arrive before his shift starts at 8am. He is supposed to finish at 8.30pm but, more often than not, stays behind for an hour or two due to his sense of responsibility and care for patients and staff,” the article says adding that “Sebastian works at an incredible pace throughout his day, striding from one job to another, constantly stopping to talk to colleagues and offering information, help and advice. One moment he is in an intense meeting, the next he is clearing the airway of an intubated patient and then writing a proposal to help colleagues thrive in a multicultural workplace. His last job on the day I spent with him was to empty effluent bags from a patient with renal failure.”
Amidst his busy work schedule, Bejoy and a group of nurses also help young nurses from India who reach the UK in search of jobs. “We provide free training and coaching to the young nurses to appear for tests and interview in government jobs. We will be launching a formal organisation in May to expand our activities in this regard,” Bejoy said.
Bejoy also undertakes voluntary work every weekend along with a group of nurses and doctors to create a stem cell data bank of South Asians in the UK. “Stem cells are important to treat various critical ailments. We are creating a data bank of stem cells to bring down the wide gap that exists in finding a stem cell match for a South Asian in the UK. Currently, the stem cell match for a South Asian is one in 750, we need to bring it down to at least one in 100,” he added.
Bejoy’s parents – Sebastian Joseph and Sophia– are staying at their ancestral home in Punnapra, Alappuzha and he hopes to get leave in April to come to Kerala to meet his aged parents.
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